The FIA is proposing to mandate plexiglass windscreens for the cockpits of formula one cars, according to an Italian report.

Autosprint published a photoshopped image of a possible F1 windshield that claims to protect drivers from being struck on the head. The exposure of the drivers' heads made headlines last year, when Felipe Massa was seriously injured by a flying suspension spring, days after Formula Two driver, Henry Surtees, was killed when he drove into the path of a stricken wheel. Autosprint said the proposed protective structure, whilst not impeding driver visibility, would be designed to withstand the impact of a flying wheel and the full 640kg weight of an F1 car.

"I'm not saying we need to cover (the cockpit) completely," Ferrari driver Massa said after recovering from his skull injuries. "But maybe there are some other things we can do to the car to stop a wheel hitting your head." He added. After those incidents last year, Bernie Ecclestone said Professor Sid Watkins - the president of the FIA Institute for Motor Sport Safety - had been commissioned to look into the issue.

The renewed push for driver head safety also came just six weeks after the nose of Vitantonio Liuzzi's Force India rode up and almost struck Michael Schumacher's head during the 2010 season finale in Abu Dhabi.

The report said the solution would also need to take into consideration its aerodynamic impact, including the flow of air to the engine airbox and the wings.

I have been a car fanatic since 1989, when my father was changing our family car then to a Toyota Corolla 1.6 GL fitted with a Twin Cam 16 valve engine that was carburetor-fed, a big deal back in those days. The automobile technology and industry fascinates me and I hope to broadcast these interesting developments to everyone out there through this blog.